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THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON October 4, 1973 MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT SUBJECT: Unemployment-Employment Situation in September The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4. 8 percent in September. The aggregate unemployment rate and the unemployment rate for the demo- graphic subgroups in the population have not changed significantly since June. For the last four months the unemployment rate has been at the lowest monthly level since April 1970, in spite of the increasing importance in the labor force of "secondary workers" (e.g., married women and students) among whom new entrants and reentrants are highly represented and who have higher unemployment rates than "primary workers" (adult males and adult single females). ( In September, the civilian long duration unemployment rate (i. e., the number of workers unemployed for 15 weeks or more divided by the civilian labor force) was 0.9 percent. It was at the 0. 8 to 0. 9 percent level in 1956 and in 1957, when the overall unemployment rate was slightly above 4 percent. The seasonally adjusted average duration of unemployment for those who were unemployed declined by 0. weeks in September compared to the previous month. The September level of 9. 4 weeks is substantially lower than the 12. 1 weeks in September 1972 and is the lowest monthly level since October 1970. On the basis of household survey data, the seasonally adjusted civilian labor force and nonagricultural employment reversed a two month decline and increased in September to new peaks. The seasonally adjusted civilian labor force grew by 752, 000, and nonagricultural employment grew by 766, 000. Season- ally adjusted agricultural employment declined for the second month in a row by 73,000. Total civilian employment grew by 2. 7 million from September 1972 to September 1973, and nonagriculture employment by 3. 0 million. On the basis of payroll data, nonagricultural employment grew by only 190,000, compared to the 766, 000 shown by the population survey. However, the payroll data had shown a big increase in the preceding month, when the household survey showed a decline. The increase shown by payroll data for the part year was 2. 6 million, compared to 3. 0 million shown by the popula- tion survey.